The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals recognized last week the exclusive remedy of Iowa's workers' compensation system in ruling that there is no tort liability on a carrier for bad-faith failure to monitor and direct the medical treatment being furnished to an injured employee.In Petrillo vs. Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co. (03-28600, 8/05/04), Tamela Petrillo slipped and fell at work in February 1999 and the injury was accepted as industrial. The employer sent her to a physical therapist who
treated Petrillo's hip pain for two months and discharged her at which point the carrier closed its file....
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